United Technologies Corp. (Hartford, CT) reported that its third-quarter earnings rose 25% on increased profits in all its manufacturing operations. Operating profit at the company’s Carrier unit rose 18% to $223 million.

General Electric Co. (Louisville, KY) announced that it has made a major investment in ImproveNet (www.improvenet.com), the nation’s largest on-line referral service matching homeowners with pre-screened contractors, designers, and architects to handle their home improvement projects.

To better educate distributors and end-users, aftermarket and oem representatives of International Controls and Measurements Corp. (ICM) (Cicero, NY) recently provided product training and a factory tour showing expanded vertical integration capabilities.